The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to digital motor controllers, and more particularly to compact field programmable gate array (FPGA) based digital motor controllers.
A brushless direct current (DC) motor can use switches to electrically control commutation. One or more sensors can be used to determine position or speed information for feedback control of the brushless DC motor. When sensors are used that provide timing information, commutation control may be non-linear with respect to rotational speed of the motor. Non-linear period information complicates control logic, which can result in demanding mathematical calculations and complex algorithms for accurate control. Such control logic typically requires a microprocessor and accompanying computer system control elements, such as non-volatile memory, volatile memory, arbitration logic, operating system software, and application software in the motor control loop. The use of a microprocessor and computer system control elements may be unsuitable for certain environments that are geometrically constrained and/or subject to harsh environmental conditions, for instance, high radiation environments.